


and all the little people in their fanciest shoes can dance the worries away

by HereInTheLaterNow



Series: Hm, That's Not Right [6]
Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Headcanon, Historical References, History Jokes, Humor, Letters, News Media, Newsletters, Newspapers, No Romance, POV First Person, Theories, We live in a society, World War II, Worldbuilding, a storey about a news bastard man putting in his two cents on current events, duvos, editor, newspaper au?, portia - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26380534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HereInTheLaterNow/pseuds/HereInTheLaterNow
Summary: Julian Danielson-Scott is a young editorialist for a newspaper and newsletter Duran Days, in Duvos. He comments on the state of the world as well as the world pre-Age of Darkness.
Series: Hm, That's Not Right [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620085
Comments: 8
Kudos: 4





	1. Meidi is a Quiet Moment in an Age of Loudness

**Author's Note:**

> Aw yeah I'm back with probably my most creative work yet, really proud of this one. Enjoy!

_'Meidi is a Quiet Moment in an Age of Loudness'_

Published by [Duran Days Publishing](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PNtUaisIKRHfKDjM7UaJ92dP6bsVC61-7xUM9GFkJbo/edit?usp=sharing)

An Editorial by Julian Danielson-Scott

East District Duvos

Summer 2

331, PD (post-Darkness)

* * *

When I look back to the world long in the past I find a staggering amount of similarities to our shambled together world now. Of course, I'd hope I wasn't the only one or we've truly been living in a world gone mad. 

We don't need to be reminded of why the world's gone mad, you're here, aren't you? Unless you read eyes glazed over, a hand full of Tallsky brew coffee, in which case I must ask you to direct me to your cafe because I have yet to taste a Tallsky brew that didn't taste like wood chips and trodden on dirt, I imagine this is a taste Duvos soldiers are familiar with.

I know some Empurists must be slightly ticked at that quip. Even under the rule of an emperor, he knew not to stifle the people's freedom of speech lest we have another Marie Antoinette situation on our hands. May the library guide you well on your trek to decode that statement. 

During my stay in the radio-silent Meidi dominated by peace-loving, earth-thumping priests I realized something amazing. I do mean radio silent, by the way, I swear I've heard more outcry towards Duvos' actions in The Great Begeondan. Props to the brilliant person who named that stretch of ghastly land that. I would've settled for No Man's Land and called it a day. I heard that during the Darkness it was called the Farlands. Back on track, I realized that Meidi was far from the Switzerland or Sweden it is being referred to. Seeing as how Switzerland and Sweden weren't truly neutral. 

I talked to the High Priestess of Meidi about the situation in Duvos. She told me that she had no intention of ever speaking on about the situation besides this: 

“The situation between Duvos and the cultural capital of the world, Ethea, is truly a shame. Especially after the disarray Lucien was left in. I can only hope that the Alliance holds. Everyone seems to play their part.” - High Priestess Umara. 

I even got to talk to the current and ex-Minister of Meidi’s High Temple. The current Minister, Roman-Bartholomew. Said much of the same as the High Priestess. He was in the middle of many weddings, with spring being wedding season, but I’m not concerned with him. The real interest came from the ex-Minister, who didn’t retire but rather moved to Portia, a city-state in the Alliance that I’m planning on visiting real soon. His name was Lee, with no last name. He was visiting Meidi for work and I got to ask a few questions. Specifically on the Duvos situation. 

“I believe Duvos is where it is now because of the evils of technology. I believe in the abolition of AoC (Age of Corruption for the less witted) relics. Maybe then will the world be at peace or the very least at a standstill.” - Church of the Light Minister Lee, Portia Branch. 

Ah yes, a real earth-thumper. Nobody tell him that even without technology people would still fight for power. Nobody tell him that it is a deeply rooted societal problem from the encouragement of New-Era Capitalism and the constant rat race to improve and conquer. I will say this, even if we don’t quite see eye to eye politically he is remarkably likable, just steer clear from the talk of relics. 

After that, I simply walked around Seesai Town, a marketplace in Meidi home to many Seesaian and surprisingly Walnut Groovians alike. Meidi is a beautiful place by the way. Especially in the spring, the wedding season, and the flowering dogwoods, which give the Seesaian cherry blossoms a run for their money, are in bloom and the petals are constantly airborne. I passed a little Sister-in-training and she had the petals woven into her hair. A grand vacation spot truly. The town is quiet, refreshingly so. As someone who both currently lives and was born in Duvos, it’s a stunning but welcome change. I think I like it more than Tallsky or Atara. If you’re ever tired of the buzz of Atara, the horrible coffee of Tallsky, the smog of Duvos, or the ever droning boredom of Sandrock or Portia then I suggest a vacation here. Just not during spring maybe, weddings and all that. 

I will keep you up to date if the Priestess ever changes her mind. 

* * *

Julian Danielson-Scott is an editorialist for Duran Days in East District Duvos. He is an avid traveler and a lover of art, especially old-world art. He’s been with Duran Days for two years, being one of the younger members on the team. He also occasionally hosts the opinion column for the Atara Times. 


	2. A Breakdown of the Professor's Statement

_'A Breakdown of the Professor's Statement'_

Published by Duran Days Publishing

An Editorial by Julian Danielson-Scott

East District Duvos

Summer 6

331, PD (post-Darkness)

* * *

Unless you've been living under a rock then you must already know that just yesterday the Emperor picked himself up off his silk draped, jewel-encrusted, massage chair throne. At least I think it's like that. What kind of emperor wouldn't take a massage chair and throne-ify it? Anywho, this man has a talent for saying things as backward and vague as possible. I don't even have to summarize his statement, it's as generic and basic as one of these can get. Basically a "No, that's not true!" rebuttal of what the professor said.

If you recall, on the 5th, Professor Longstone of UoA hit us with his _"Analysis of the Orzu Ruins Situation"_ , in which he brilliantly states that the Orzu Ruins belong to Ethea, along with calling out the “deafening silence” coming from Atara as well. If you haven’t read it by now a simple breakdown would be Longstone theorizing that one of Duvos’ goals is to break the peace. 

Even though Duvos is the biggest, richest, and most technologically advanced territory in the world it isn't in good grace like Seesai is. Is the Emperor trying to provoke Seesai? It's a solid question to ask. He and his "Senators" seem to stir up all kinds of trouble. 

If you didn't know, Duvos is large, too large for one Emperor to watch over. As such it is separated into five districts each ruled by elected officials called Senators: 

The East District, where I live, is also called San Huerta. It's run by Senator Bruno Guerra who oversees the newspaper The Duvos Times-Journal. It's the business part of Duvos basically, a lot of coffee shops and where you'll find the tallest buildings, most pretentious art galleries, and stuffiest suits. The best hotels are here. 

The West District, also called Wilhelmina, is our red-light district. It's run by Senator and The Scarlet Mark brothel owner Veronica Vu. Here, law enforcement is to protect the rights and safety of the escorts. Prostitution is only legal here and is home to the world's most popular abortion clinic, Hard Pass at Wilhelmina (a name I find hilarious) and erotic supplies shop, Madonna's Little Secret. 

The South District or the Moonlight District because of the Duvos Space Center, along with Lowman Park which is a good place to go stargazing. Lowman also has a butterfly garden, a zoo, a water park, the world's largest indoor pool, and a cat cafe. It's run by Senator and former Astrophysicist Jake McCain. 

The Northwest District or Cicero Town, run by Senator La'Maya Jepsen, is the creative core of Duvos. It's where Francisca Plaza is, often called the new-world fashion centre. As well as the Marketplace where you can buy spices, cloth, and all kinds of trinkets; the Cicero Town Amphitheatre (CTA) is where the biggest musical acts in the world play; and the Freeman Fiction Expo (FFEX) where people get together to trade and showcase works usually about fiction. Books, tabletop games, roleplay, and newsletter comics. 

Finally, Rauru, the capital, where the Emperor resides. It's the part of Duvos with the most real estate as well as schools and other public buildings. The military school is here and the ruin labs are too. Rauru is the home to the scientific community. The architecture gets much more traditional the closer to the palace you get. 

I hope you got that. San Huerta, Wilhelmina, the Moonlight District, Cicero Town, and Rauru. I noticed that A LOT of my readers are not from Duvos. The biggest chunk, excluding Duvos, are from Atara and Vega 5 tied and the smallest is Sandrock with an astonishing zero people. Portia is the next smallest although I think that's a given. 

Speaking of Portia I wanted to go into my next point. 

I think that if the Duvos Empire does back down their next target is Portia. If you didn't know that town is sitting on dozens of ruins. Built back up from the remains Dubei, an old-world space travel-savvy town in the same vein as Houston. I imagine there's some crazy war-winning power lying dormant under that little town. 

If the Emperor went to war Portia would be desecrated. The population just breaks 50...that's about how many people live on my block. They'd get desecrated, and yet I have hope for the underdogs, I along with the rest of the world make our "Portia is boring" jokes but I have faith in them.

* * *

Julian Danielson-Scott is an editorialist for Duran Days in East District Duvos. He is an avid traveler and a lover of art, especially old-world art. He’s been with Duran Days for a few years, being one of the younger members on the team. He also occasionally hosts the opinion column for the Atara Times. 


	3. A Continuation of My Portia Theory

_‘A Continuation of My Portia Theory’_

Published by Duran Days Publishing

An Editorial by Julian Danielson-Scott

East District Duvos

Summer 8

331, PD (post-Darkness)

* * *

Two days ago at the end of my recap of the Professor’s statement, I proposed a theory that if Duvos stopped antagonizing Ethea their next target would be Portia. Some people sent me letters scoffing at the idea. I don’t blame them for thinking that way though. Why Portia? 

Why not Ethea? The cultural capital of the world. If they want them ruins, take em by force!

Why not Seesai? They can claim their dominance giving Seesai a beating. 

Why not Barnarock? The immense land and valuable resources aren’t that far away.

Why not Meidi? That’s just more land ripe for the taking.

Why not Atara? The most developed city in the Alliance. If they take Atara, they’ll have Lucien and if they have Lucien they’ll have Vega 5 and if they have Vega 5 they’ll have Walnut Groove and then Tallsky, then Highwind, then Sandrock and finally...Portia.

Why on earth would you suggest PORTIA? 

Portia isn’t under the rule of an Emperor, or High Priestess Umara, or High Princess Alessa, or First Minister Ma-lei. Cutely, it’s run by a Mayor. A super nice guy I heard. 

Portia doesn’t even have its own identity. Most of its inhabitants are refugees and immigrants. Hell, the Mayor’s own son (a hottie, I saw the photos) didn’t even go to school there. There’s only an elementary school and not a single teenager counted in the census. A population so small you can accurately count the ones’ digit. Most of the tourist spots are closed, the town doesn’t have street lights or a bus or at the very least Dee-Dee system. There is no reason on Mother Nature’s green earth that the Emperor would have his eye on Portia. 

Except you’re wrong.

It’s real simple. Have you ever heard of the All Source? It was an AI with the ability to wipe out armies like nobody’s business. Of course, it was also a supercomputer with a wealth of information on the era before the Day of Calamity. Its main goal was to assist in space travel, it’s why it was made in Dubei and was never moved but instead hidden away. For a while, people were unsure of its existence until an old journal by a mechanical engineer was found in the ruins of The Great Begeondan Plateau near the Gulf of Meidi. It told of a supercomputer combined into one AI being made by a young electrical engineer and computer scientist named Wendy Cray. We still haven’t found Mrs. Cray’s journal. Scientists assume it’s somewhere under the strangely stable wreckage of Dubei. 

It’s a win-win situation honestly. If the AI isn’t there then he still has his people getting info about Portia and all the other plentiful ruins in and around Portia. If I was the Emperor and I knew there was still a very good chance this computer was out there it wouldn’t hurt to send a couple of spies. Not that I’m advocating for it.

* * *

Julian Danielson-Scott is an editorialist for Duran Days in East District Duvos. He is an avid traveler and a lover of art, especially old-world art. He’s been with Duran Days for a few years, being one of the younger members on the team. He also occasionally hosts the opinion column for the Atara Times.


	4. A Little Look Into New Age Religions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im back beaches !!!!!!!!!

_ ‘A Little Look Into New Age Religions’ _

Published by Duran Days Publishing and Atara Times

A Commentary by Julian Danielson-Scott for Atara Times

East District Duvos; Atara

Summer 12

331, PD (post-Darkness)

* * *

Foreword by Neville Atticus, Editor-In-Chief of Atara Times.    
  


“Normally you don’t see something like this in front of a news article. Danielson-Scott with Duran Days decided to share a theory of why Old-World religions have died out. I foresee a long career stemming from this work. Think about what he has proposed, sit on it, chew it thoughtfully, and then letter him with a response. I've watched him happily read submissions. Don't be afraid to reach out. He has worked on this piece for many seasons, in fact, it's soon to reach its birthday. Please enjoy. I know I did.”   


* * *   


The curious thing about humanity is that most of us need a justification for living, an end goal, a reason to keep going, and most importantly, somewhere to go in the end. Personally, I’m not religious, but I am wildly fascinated by religion. I almost went to a Duvos school for Old-World Religious studies. I ended up majoring in Journalism and minoring in Humanities, specifically anthropology (and also Creative Writing but this is a story for another day). However, I have always kept myself educated on this topic, and even sat in for tutoring sessions to a class I didn’t have, the professor was always thrilled to have me there, he became a close friend of mine, he lives in Atara now, and I hope he sees this. 

I’m back in Meidi. Can you blame me? This place is amazing. This time I’m not here for pleasure but to get a couple of questions answered. Minister Roman-Bartholomew, a name you may recognize from the first editorial of this season. Has kindly let us back in the Church of the Light for a little interview. First, we talk of the Church of the Light and then we theorize on what happened to Old-World Religions.

So, with the lack of a better transition, here we go!

Julian Danielson-Scott: “So, the most basic question I can think of, basically the first stepping stone of any religion. How was the universe created? How were humans and animals and plants created?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “A good question, this is the one thing that unifies most of the sects of the Church. At least the majority of the church believes in the Big Bang Theory or any other scientific theory that tries to explain the birth of the universe. The other thing that unifies the Church is the existence of Mother Nature and to some capacity depending on the person, Father Time. To the High Temple, and many other main sects Mother Nature is a personification of a concept of a human’s natural born duty to respect and protect nature. Some however see Mother Nature as a real goddess, very close to catholicism in some of their ideals. An average home or lawn or family-owned restaurant could have a little statue of Her Lady Nature. In Barnarock she and Father Time are often portrayed as one person, Cosmo. Very few actually follow the teachings, or at least the watered-down teachings of the Christian God. Lee, the former Minister of the High Temple, did to some extent.”

Danielson-Scott: “Well then, what are human relationships to nature? Why are we here and what are we meant to do with the life we have?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “This question, at least to the main sects, is quite simple actually. To protect and preserve the Earth for the next generations to come. There are other sects of course who consider themselves servants to Mother Nature.”

Danielson-Scott: “What happens after death?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “This is one thing that we don’t much talk about in the Church, this is between a person and their relationship with the Light. I know some who believe that people die and that is that. The Seesai sects have large followings of people who believe in reincarnation. The people who follow Her Lady Nature believe that they will go to a Heaven-adjacent, an endless garden or orchard, some call it Eden and some call it The Orchard/La Huerta/Her Lady’s Grove.” 

Danielson-Scott: “You’ve talked a lot of different sects. Can you name a few?  Do they have different beliefs? Different lifestyles? Different values?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “The main one of Meidi is The High Temple. Duvos, Walnut Groove, and Barnarock have a high population of Her Lady’s Servants.”

Danielson-Scott: “Oh yeah, they call em’ Cosmo’s Witnesses in Barnarock.” 

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “Oh yes, Cosmo’s Witnesses, [Laughs]. There’s also Rebirthism, Atheism, and Technologists, who occupy places such as Ethea, Atara, and Vega 5.”

Danielson-Scott: “Technologists? Do they believe wholeheartedly in technology?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “Yes. Their main argument is that nature gave humanity the ability to progress and innovate. They believe that they have the power to harness the Light through technological means.”

Danielson-Scott: “The Light?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “Yes. The Light. Nature, life, love, the very essence of humanity. The innate desire to spread kindness. The Light lives in all of us in some capacity.”

Danielson-Scott: “So different sects have different ideas on what the Light is.”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “Yes, I’d say very much so.”

Danielson-Scott: “On to fiction. Every religion has its own stories to tell, be it explaining life or how to treat our neighbors. Any prominent figures and such?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “Peach would be the main figure. Who was a very real man, you’d be surprised at the number of people who believe he’s a tall tale. Peach’s relevance varies by country, he’s outright hated in Barnarock, but he’s revered among Technologists and atheists.”

Danielson-Scott: “But besides Peach?”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “None that I can make note of. These days as we shift further and further back towards technology people don’t write books, these stories are told by word of mouth, passed down from traveler to relic hunter to family to neighbor. How long will it be until we lose the need for newspapers once again? How long will it be until we need last names again? Middle ones? ”

Danielson-Scott: “[Laughs] Hopefully not soon. I like my job.”

Minister Roman-Bartholomew: “[Laughs], well. Thank you so much for the interview. It’s not often I get to represent the Church and to some extent Meidi. I look forward to reading this article.”

* * *

Leaving the Church that day I was riddled with even more questions. Why had the Old-World religions died out? Of course, all the sacred texts and holy grounds had been blasted to smithereens. Yet I can’t help but think there is something deeper there. Fatigue of these religions? Or rather people getting tired of following figures that never did anything for them, that they’ve never met personally. 

See, followers of Mother Nature make a conscious effort to protect the environment, to sow and everything they reap seems to be positive. We are currently experiencing a population boost from an overabundance of food. We’re producing faster than we’re consuming. Life is prosperous, even the poorest of our society have homes, jobs, are educated. Technology is moving in an eco-friendly way. Sure the world’s gone mad but all things considered, for the average person, it’s been the best few years they’ve had in recent memory. 

Following Mother Nature...well...it’s produced direct results. 

* * *

Julian Danielson-Scott is an editorialist for Duran Days in East District Duvos. He is an avid traveler and a lover of art, especially old-world art. He’s been with Duran Days for a few years, being one of the younger members on the team. He also occasionally hosts the opinion column for the Atara Times. 


End file.
